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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cap — a lid
  5. press — to push
  6. fine — high quality
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. cap — of ice
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — a country
  17. fine — all right
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — a hat
  23. lie — to recline
  24. craft — boats

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com